Law Enforcement Data Request Guidelines

Retention & Deletion · Company practice

TikTok will preserve user data for 90 days on a formal request that meets the criteria

Section 5 says TikTok will honor formal requests to preserve user data for 90 days, but only if the request fulfils "the criteria above". Preservation requests go through the same web form with the request attached as a PDF. They must be on law enforcement letterhead, signed, and clearly identify the specific data to preserve by username, data type and date range. Overly broad or unspecific preservation requests will not be actioned.

Supporting quotations

TikTok will honor formal requests to preserve user data for 90 days only if it fulfils the criteria above.

with your preservation request attached in PDF format.

Preservation requests must be sent on law enforcement letterhead, signed, and must clearly identify the specific user data to be preserved (by reference to username, the data type and date ranges as per Section 3 above).

Overly broad or unspecific preservation requests will not be actioned.

Qualifications & exceptions

• Honored only if the request fulfils "the criteria above".
• The request must identify the specific data by username, data type and date range.

Not stated here

• "The criteria above" is not specified further.
• Whether preserved data is a copy kept apart from ordinary retention is not stated.

Cross-references

• qualified by (model-proposed): Preservation lasts an initial 90 days, may be extended once, and then data may be deleted — The initial 90-day preservation is limited by the one-extension cap and by possible deletion at expiry.

Retention & Deletion · Company practice

Preservation lasts an initial 90 days, may be extended once, and then data may be deleted

TikTok preserves information for an initial 90 days and may extend for one more 90-day period on receipt of a formal request to extend. It says it may not honor multiple extension requests beyond one additional 90-day period. If TikTok has not received formal legal process for the preserved information by the end of the preservation period, the preserved information may be deleted when the period expires.

Supporting quotations

TikTok will preserve information for an initial 90 day period (and may extend for an additional 90-day period upon receipt of a formal request to extend the preservation).

We may not honour multiple extension requests beyond one additional 90-day period.

If TikTok does not receive formal legal process for the preserved information before the end of the preservation period, the preserved information may be deleted when the preservation period expires.

Qualifications & exceptions

• Extension is stated as something TikTok "may" do, once, for 90 more days.
• Deletion on expiry is stated as "may be deleted", and applies where formal legal process has not been received before the period ends.

Not stated here

• Whether preserved data is always deleted at expiry is not stated.
• Whether received legal process extends retention beyond 180 days is not stated.

Cross-references

• qualifies (model-proposed): TikTok will preserve user data for 90 days on a formal request that meets the criteria — The initial 90-day preservation is limited by the one-extension cap and by possible deletion at expiry.